The holiday season is well underway and amidst all the party planning, family visiting arrangements and gift shopping you need to do, you also have a teething baby to deal with. Kill two birds with one stone and pump out a batch of party treats while simultaneously taking care of your baby’s teething pains with a healthy helping of Homemade Apple Chips.

Delicious for both adults and babies alike, these natural chips are easy and inexpensive to make and don’t contain any secret additives or mystery ingredients. To make them more resistant to your baby’s constant gnawing, just cut thicker apple slices. They may resemble more cookie than chip, but as long as they still tempt your baby’s taste buds, you’ll hear no complaints.

A platter of these also works great for a holiday party! You can dress them up with some brown sugar or experiment with other flavors that may work well with apples and watch your friends, family or co-workers discover a whole new world of chips they may have never known.

Homemade Apple ChipsMakes 2 cups

2 large apples
4 cups apple juice
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 300° F. Thinly slice apples (if you want, core the apple beforehand) about 1/8-inch thick with a mandolin or knife. Combine apple juice and cinnamon in a large bowl and place your apple slices into the bowl. Let it soak up the sugar for about 10 minutes. Then place them on a cooling rack atop a baking pan or baking pan lined with parchment paper. When laying them on down, do not let them overlap. Place them in a single layer. Bake for about 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on how chewy or crisp you prefer your apple chips.

*Note: If you cut thicker slices, be sure to increase baking time as needed.